In Monday’s (3/26) Philadelphia Inquirer, Peter Dobrin writes, “Each spring for the last decade, Philadelphia’s largest performing arts importer has unveiled what’s in store for next season: world music, jazz, superstar pianist Lang Lang, or, when times were flush, the widely worshipped Vienna Philharmonic. So far this spring, however, except for announcing its lucrative Broadway series, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts has been silent on plans for 2012-13. The Kimmel has a season penciled in, leaders say, but for now, completion of its own presentations must wait as negotiations over a new lease agreement between the Kimmel and its largest tenant, the Philadelphia Orchestra, reach a critical point. … Already, the orchestra’s bankruptcy has been a big challenge to the Kimmel. Among other consequences, in fiscal year 2011, rent that the orchestra failed to pay to the Kimmel, plus other expenses related to the bankruptcy, cost the Kimmel $1.4 million, creating an unexpected $450,000 splash of red ink on its 2011 balance sheet. Talks with the Kimmel are the only item standing between the Philadelphia Orchestra Association and its filing of a reorganization plan that would begin the process of exiting bankruptcy. ‘Once that is resolved, we’ll file a plan within about a week,’ association lawyer Lawrence G. McMichael said.”
Posted March 27, 2012
